This article focuses briefly on the menopause and how reiki can help those going through this stage in their lives.

Common symptoms of the menopause including migraines, hot flushes, cramps, insomnia, forgetfulness and depression can all be addressed during a reiki treatment. Reiki will restore a hormonal imbalance, aids a restful night’s sleep, is a natural painkiller and will promote quicker healing, as well as soothing aches and pains. It works on an emotional level too, so you will feel better and able to deal with things that worry you – more able to cope, and in a lighter, more positive mood.

As reiki works to relieve stress, muscles become less tense, relieving headaches and other pains, and encouraging better circulation and elimination of toxins from the body. During a reiki treatment your practitioner will assess all your chakras to determine if there are any imbalances and clear those accordingly. Certain chakras relate to different parts of the body and physical problems, as well as emotional issues, so by identifying which chakras are out of balance, we can get directly to the root of the physical and emotional issues troubling you. For instance, the liver regulates hormones and cleanses the blood, and this will help with hot flushes – if you were experiencing these, and perhaps low energy, an imbalance in your solar plexus chakra, might be apparent.

Reiki is best utilised regularly when it is for a specific or ongoing condition. I would suggest weekly sessions for a couple of weeks and you can then reduce to fortnightly and monthly sessions.

Distant healing is a great option as even 30 minutes can be just as beneficial as a full “in-person” session.

If a client has a particular concern about a physical or emotional issue, learning reiki is something I would recommend, as they are then able to give themselves short bursts of reiki regularly. Ten minutes several times a week, can be very helpful.

Some reiki practitioners use crystals and this is also something that can be very beneficial, as crystal therapy when used with reiki, will amplify the results. I often use amethyst, rose quartz and clear quartz.

For more info on reiki, for people and pets visit www.essexreikihealing.co.uk Home study reiki courses (for people or animals) and distant healing sessions are available.